Apple launches iTunes Match in UK

The ambitious upgrade to Apple's iTunes Music Store was introduced in the US in November, nevertheless was made available to UK users on Friday.

iTunes Match replicates all music stored on a user's computer - not just tracks purchased through iTunes - with better-quality alternatives from its own "cloud" for £21.99 a year. The music service forms part of iTunes in the Cloud, Apple's internet-based locker that allows users to view photos, videos and other media across a number of devices.

The launch of iTunes Match comes as internet rivals Apple, Google and Amazon battle it out with a new generation of streaming services, just as Spotify and Deezer, for users' time and money online. Google and Amazon previously this year launched similar versions of Apple's iTunes in the Cloud - which launched in the UK in October without the ability to synchronise music - afterwards striking US-only deals with the four music majors.

iTunes Match users are able to stream and store up to 25,000 tracks not purchased from iTunes with the new system. This means songs ripped from CDs or illicitly downloaded can be wirelessly synchronised to play on iPhones, iPods and iPads.

The key advantage is iTunes Match allows you stream

"The key advantage is iTunes Match allows you stream and store all of your songs to any of your devices, not just your purchased iTunes music," said an Apple spokesman.

A spokesman for PRS for Music, the UK trade body for songwriters and music publishers, said Apple had "done the right thing" by obtaining licences previously launching the service.

Apple is to reduce the price it charges UK users to buy tracks from iTunes by nearly 10% to bring them in line with the rest of Europe. By Mark Sweney